Seeing Red
by Mizani Ashki
Summary: The first time she comes across him on the red carpet, he ignores her completely. She waves at him, and calls out his name; he gives her one glance and then averts his gaze. However, it's good to remember that time changes everything. CxS


The first time she comes across him on the red carpet, he ignores her completely. She waves at him, and calls out his name; he gives her one glance and then averts his gaze.

A gossip column remarks that Sonny should know she isn't cool enough to be friends with him in the first place.

The second time she crosses paths with him, she makes eye contact first, and then waves. He smirks at her, all smugness and charm, and then breezes past her.

A reporter nearby at the time turns to the camera and winces. "Ouch! Rejected much?" She says, "Glad that's not me."

The third time, Sonny cautiously says his name; he turns at the sound, and then regards her loftily. He's got a date this time, and the peroxide-blonde titters and looks down on Sonny with superior eyes.

A talk show host comments on the interaction. He says that while anyone on Chad Dylan Coopers arm has every right to look superior, that it doesn't mean she can belittle a girl who has far better fashion sense. Sonny watches the show, and immediately clings to Tawni and thanks her for lending her the dress. Tawni tells Sonny to stop being weird. Sonny disregards the command, and hugs Tawni tighter.

The fourth time, Sonny barely has time to say hello to Chad, before Nico, Grady, Zora and Tawni all rush to Sonny's side and accuse Chad of harassing their fellow cast member. Nico and Grady put up their fists, prepared to duke it out. Chad laughs at them.

"Good friends you've got there." He tells Sonny, which only makes her fume.

A teenage girl blogs about the scene; she compares Chad and Sonny to Romeo and Juliet. Her friends comment on the post, and tell her that she's dumb, and that she should stop skipping class. The girl cries, and posts a video of herself on YouTube, crying non-stop. She makes the news headlines for breaking a record in crying. When they interview her, she makes sure to add that if Chad and Sonny are watching, she 'totally thinks they should kiss and get together already'. The reporter interviewing her stands there, smiling and completely awkward.

Back on their respective sets, the _So Random _cast burst into laughter at the girl while Sonny turns a deep shade of red. Chad, watching the interview with the _Mackenzie Falls_ cast, laughs derisively, and tells his peers that it would be Sonny Monroe's lucky day if he ever kissed her. They all laugh, though Chad inwardly wonders if it would be his lucky day too.

Their fifth encounter on the red carpet is a little different, mainly due to Sonny's new boyfriend. He's from a comedy-skit show on another channel; he keeps a hold on her hand and whispers things into Sonny's ear that make her giggle. The reporters can't hear what they're saying, and so the cameras flash violently to capture the moment. Chad regards them curiously as they make their way down the path, his own date hardly noticing his lack of attention, more focussed on the camera's flashing away. Sonny looks as if she is going to walk past him, and Chad almost has an urge to call out her name to get her attention. At the last minute, Sonny finally realises he's there, and flashes him a small smile and moves on, laughing about something her boyfriend says.

A teen magazine cites them as the cutest couple of the month. Chad stares at the article for a good five minutes before the girl who never gets a word in edgewise shuffles over; she opens her mouth to speak, but Chad cuts her off. "Just take the stupid magazine." He tells her, dumping the magazine in her hands, and walking off in a huff.

The sixth time is a lot like the fifth – Chad's date is brainless, and Sonny and her boyfriend are still enamoured with each other. This time however, Sonny's smile is accompanied by a glare from her boyfriend. Never one to be bested in anything, Chad glares back.

The exchange is caught on camera. Ms. Bitterman, on a lunch-date with Marshall, points it out on the TV in the diner they're in.

"That's a death glare if ever I saw one." She says, but Marshall is too engrossed in his food, and merely nods through a mouthful of chicken schnitzel.

The seventh time, and Sonny's boyfriend is no where to be seen. Chad comments on it, snidely remarking that he doesn't see her chuckles-city boyfriend anywhere. She puts her hands on her hips and stares him down. "He's busy," She snaps, "Besides, I don't see _your _date anyway." She fires back.

Chad shrugs. "The Chad-ster decided to go solo tonight." They stare at each other a fraction longer, before swivelling around, determined to disregard each other for the rest of the night.

Their lack of dates and the mini stand-off sets the teen world ablaze. A girl who was watching the encounter from the sidelines rings up her best friend to tell her about it. 'It was _so _intense!" She tells her friend over the phone, and her friend agrees and they squeal at the top of their lungs until their parents tell them to stop before they run out of oxygen.

The eighth time, and from the way Sonny is acting, it's as if Chad isn't even there. He glances up and she breezes past him, and he gets a distinct feeling of déjà vu, except this situation is reversed. He raises his hand, and calls out her name, and for the first time in a long time, Chad Dylan Cooper is ignored.

A wannabe- Sharona gossip-blogger cattily analyses the incident. _Little Miss Son-Shine may be popular amongst the kiddies giddy for a laugh,_ she writes, _but that doesn't mean she should get above her station. News flash: snubbing Chad Dylan Cooper? Big no- no. Especially when your own boyfriend apparently dumped you over the phone. Ooh, burn!_

Chad reads this, and all it takes is a snap of his fingers, and the blogger mysteriously resigns from the business of reporting about other peoples' business. In a very unusual act of consideration for someone other than himself, he visits Sonny at her dressing room. From the tear stains on her face, he can tell that the phone-break-up rumour is probably true.

"Go away Chad." Is the first thing she says; she's probably been expecting him to drop by and rub it all in her face. He finds himself surprised that he isn't actually here to do that.

"Heard about the break-up," He says as nonchalantly as he can, "I'm . . . sorry to hear about it." Honesty has never been his forte, but right now he's remarkably good at it.

"Thanks." She says sincerely, and Chad smiles back. Tawni then appears and the moment is interrupted. The blonde shoos him out of the room, and slams the door in his face.

The ninth time is the red carpet for some TV awards, and Chad can tell when Sonny arrives without even looking, because she sends the photographers into a loud frenzy. At the sight of her standing tall and proud, and looking more like the confident Sonny he remembers, something swells in his chest. He excuses himself from the reporter talking to him, and walks in Sonny's direction. He comes up from behind, and puts a hand on her waist, and he feels her jump a little. "Hey Sonny." He says coolly, and Sonny smiles up at him. "Hey Chad."

He leans his head a little closer, his mouth almost touching her ear, "Think this'll be a front cover picture?" He jokes, and his heart thumps a little faster at the sight of Sonny's now sly-looking smile. "Maybe it will," Is all she says before walking away. The cameras snap up a storm.

A young photographer snaps up a picture of them at the after-party. She takes the shot, and then holds back her camera screen to take a look at it. Just from looking at the photo of them dancing together, it's obvious there's some chemistry going on. The girl grins to herself and wonders how much this shot alone will be worth, and then goes back to snapping more pictures.

The party ends, and Chad offers Sonny a lift home. When they reach her house he gets out of the limo to say goodbye, and yet somehow ends up kissing her. They both know that this will change a lot of things.

The tenth time Sonny finds herself on the same red carpet as Chad is a far cry from the first time, as her now boyfriend guides her down the ruby coloured rug with a steady hand on her hip. The cameras still flicker and flare like it's going out of fashion.

"Think we'll be this month's cutest couple?" Chad asks Sonny as they stand and smile. Sonny gives him a strange look, "Why would that matter?"

"No reason," Chad says, shrugging, and immediately changes the subject, "Here comes that lady who's been begging me for an interview." Sure enough a woman with a frazzled poof of hair that matches the colour of the carpet waddles up to them.

"Aren't you two young-lovebirds cute?" She cries, "Any comments on your relationship?" She unceremoniously shoves the microphone into their faces. Chad and Sonny share a glance before Chad tilts his head forward to answer.

"It took me ten or so of these, but I think I got it right this time." He dazzles her with one of his winning smiles, and then leads Sonny away, leaving the woman standing there very confused.

When the woman returns to her morning show to report the evening, she mentions the pair. "They were very cryptic about their relationship, but they seemed very close, and sources says Chad Dylan Cooper never strayed far from Sonny Monroe all through-out the evening," She relays to her co-workers who sit primly in their brown soft suede couches, nodding with interest because that's what they're paid to do.

"Do you think they'll last?" The blonde woman asks her with fake curiosity.

"Probably not, they're teenagers after all." The frazzled red-haired woman replies and they all share a laugh to earn them their pay checks.

Sonny and Chad watch the segment together. Chad takes one of Sonny's hands in his. They both secretly hope to prove the woman wrong.

And they do.

The End

A/N: A plot bunny that would just _not leave me alone__! _It needed to be written, no matter what else I had to do. Sorry if people don't like the disjointedness of it, but this is pretty much a one shot hot off the presses of my mind, not much editing done to it. (Wasn't added to my drabbles/one shots collection 'cause I think this is a bit of a stand alone piece really). Oh, and sorry if anyone is offended by the slightly cynical view on gossip-blogging peeps, overexcited fangirls and talk show hosts. It's just easier to work with two-dimensional characters.

Enjoy and review if you wish!

Miz


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